African governments should embrace aggressive economic management basing on strong infrastructure development and job creation, public administration delegates have said. This was one of the resolutions on Wednesday by the delegates at the just-concluded African meeting on public administration and management. The three-day meeting co-organised by the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) and the Government of Rwanda, deliberated possible ways to reinforce the capacity of public service to respond to the global economic and financial crisis. Speaking at the closure of the meeting, Amb. Claver Gatete, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, said when African countries come together synergies develop and more efforts are put together enabling each country to become stronger and competent. “As long as we remain committed to creating an enabling environment within our public administration and continue laying favourable ground for the future generation, our continent will be in position to move further in development,” he said. He added: “African civil servants need to play a crucial role in the continent’s growth.” RecommendationsParticipants recommended African governments to stay on course for institutional reform, ensuring good governance and efficient public administration. They called on the continent to invest in human development to achieve strong and efficient administration necessary for enabling citizens to access quality services. The participants noted that the global financial crisis was mainly triggered by unregulated financial instruments like securitisation of the financial system in the western world. Role of youthsAccording to Abdon Agaw Jok Nhia, the AAPM president, there is a need to create a system of meritocracy and align political to public interest. “Political leaders should desist from making salary promises to public servants which they are unable to implement,” he said. The continental meeting assessed the role of public administration in African countries and urged African governments to deepen the integration process to achieve a stable and prosperous continent. It brought together academics, political leaders, representatives of international organisations, chief executive officers, and civil society organisations among other officials from all over Africa and outside the continent. Public Service minister Anastase Murekezi said aggressive strong management of African economies was the only way to respond to the global economic and financial crisis. “There is a need to encourage young people to be job creators and to invest heavily in infrastructure development,” he said. AAPM is an international organisation for those who practice, teach, conduct research and offer advisory services in administration and management in both public and private sector. Rwanda has established a National Capacity Building Secretariat to boost the activities of both the public and private sectors to achieve the targets outlined in the country’s development framework.
